Energetic Impact of Electrosprayed Nanodroplets on Inert Materials for Surface Engineering and Nanofabrication

The presentation will be performed by
Rafael Borrajo (OsloMet) and Enric Grustan Gutierrez (Core Group member)

Abstract:

Electrospray atomization is an incomparable method to produce charged particles with sizes spanning between the micro and nanoscale. When these particles are accelerated and used to bombard targets, they offer unparalleled opportunities for surface engineering of chemically inert, crystalline materials. Nanodroplet bombardment is credited with sputtering yields and rates comparable to, or higher than, reactive etching techniques and, thanks to the larger projectile size, significantly higher than other physical sputtering systems.

Additionally, nanodroplet bombardment can produce the amorphatisation of a thin layer of the target’s surface.

The main physical characteristics of the electrospray, such as droplet diameter, molecular mass of the spray, and kinetic energy, can readily be controlled, allowing the regulation of the sputtering and amorphisation efficiency, as well as the resulting topography of the processed target.

Nanodroplet bombardment can be used to imprint geometrical patterns into the targets' structure by different approaches, such as the coupling of electrostatic lenses to focus and scan the beam of charged particles throughout the target, or the sputtering of selected areasby masking the target’s surface with sputter-resistant materials.